Portable electronic devices such as mobile computer devices are used for a wide variety of tasks. When using a portable electronic device, a user may also use a headset or another peripheral device coupled to the portable electronic device. In one exemplary application, a mobile computer device is connected to a headset having a microphone and speakers. The user has mobility to perform computing and data-processing functions while moving about a worksite, such as a warehouse, for example. Through the headset, the users are able to receive voice instructions, ask questions, report the progress of their tasks, report working conditions, and provide and capture other data. The mobile computer device may also link the user to a centralized computer system or provide communications solutions for connecting different workers.
In addition to headsets, other peripheral devices are often coupled to the portable electronic devices depending upon the tasks to be performed. For example, bar code readers, RFID readers, and other scanners may be utilized alone or in combination with a headset to communicate back and forth in the system. The peripheral devices, such as headsets, are often attached to a portable electronic device with a cable or a cord. In the exemplary application, the cord extends generally from the computer (typically worn on a belt or at the waist area of a user) to the head of the user where the headset is located. With other peripheral devices, such as scanners or readers, the cord may extend from the portable computer at the waist to the hand of the user. As may be appreciated, the users are often moving rapidly around their work area or facility and are in some cases maybe jumping on and off of equipment, such as forklifts, pallet loaders, and other equipment. Therefore, there is always a possibility for a cord to get caught on some object. When this occurs, the cord will tend to want to separate either from the attachment point with the peripheral device or from the attachment point with the portable computer. Thus, it is important for the cord coupling the peripheral device and the portable electronic device to be strong enough to handle the forces encountered when a user snags the cord.
Attempts have been made to appropriately handle a snagged cord and cord separation from related connectors at one or both ends. One example of an attempt to balance and otherwise address these issues is provided in the connector of U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,911, which is owned by the assignee of the current application. While connectors have been designed to more easily release a cord at the portable electronic device, the strain placed on a cord over the course of multiple snags and disconnections can lead to failure of the cord. One current method for strengthening a cable is tying off ends of a strength member at the ends of a cord and then locking the ends in a pre-loaded position using adhesive and pre-mold members. While such a technique provides some protection to the cord, tying the ends also leads to inconsistent results for tensile pre-load. The cure time for an appropriate adhesive to hold the tied ends in position is generally over 20 minutes. Thus, it remains desirable to improve the strength of a cord efficiently and with consistent manufacturing results.